A significant motivation for businesses to choose mediation in labor disputes is the hope that mediation works fast and so will provide clarity within a short time frame. This then, is mediation’s propagation. Of course, the short time frame is only a correct “advertising-argument” to a certain extent. Mediation can be extremely short. My shortest…
Since April 2005 there have been two structural provisions for referral to mediation: via the Legal Desk and via the Judiciary. Besides, conflicting parties can start mediation on their own initiative or after referral by other bodies. Other referring bodies comprise, for instance, occupational health and safety services, social services, youth services, the police, social…
In mediation, the art of the mediator is to lead the mediation participants to the best possible solution of their conflict, based on their underlying interests. It is the art of seduction to shift the focus from their points of view and desired outcomes to interests, and also from the escalation-driven wish to “win” and…
Promotion and legislation on mediation in The Netherlands Machteld Pel, Pelmediation I would like to present an update about the promotion and legislation on mediation in the Netherlands and the possible influence of promotion and regulation on the use of mediation. Since the end of the nineties, the promotion of ADR has been an active…
Quality standards for the mediator? What conditions are needed for the successful outcome of a mediation? Without parties’ commitment to really resolve the conflict and settle the case, no success is possible. So commitment of the parties is a sine qua non. Still, we must also look at the mediator, who may be essential for…
We live in an age when we all seem to try to get more out of our time. We try to expand time by doing things more quickly and more efficiently than we could before we had airplanes, computers, and all our other electronic devices. We have, however, also created more and more time pressure…
As we all know mediation is an interest-based method to resolve conflicts. Nevertheless it is not always easy to know: • which interests drive parties into a conflict • which interests make them want to resolve conflicts and • which interests have to be met in the solution. The first question I ask in the…
Problems in group practices of medical group practices or commercial partnerships between lawyers, advisers, accountants, consultants are very common. My mediation practice consists for about 50% of group-mediations concerning cooperation-problems between partners in lawyer-firms, doctors-cooperations and other commercial partnerships. One of the major issues seems to be that clear communication about what is really the…
Yesterday night, sitting in the theatre and looking at a very sophisticated balance-act of two chinese dancers, I thought of a mediation session this week. I saw myself balancing while walking a tightrope between the parties in the room looking for possibilities if and how this tightrope walking could change into a red carpet welcome…
